Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 3
Personal and social well-being: healthy lifestyles and choices – Week 10 focus
Download the Lessonotes Mobile South Africa app for faster lesson access on Android and iPhone.
Personal and social well-being: healthy lifestyles and choices – Week 10 focus
Download the Lessonotes Mobile South Africa app for faster lesson access on Android and iPhone.
Subject: Life Skills
Class: Grade 3
Term: 2nd Term
Week: 10
Theme: General lesson support
This page supports the lesson note with a companion video and a short classroom-ready summary.
For class groups and homework, share this lesson page so learners also get the summary, objectives, and full lesson context.
This week, we're focusing on making healthy choices that help us feel good, stay strong, and learn better. We'll be talking about what it means to live a healthy lifestyle and how our daily choices affect our bodies and minds. This is important for all South African learners because healthy habits help us grow up to be strong, resilient adults who can contribute positively to our communities. When we are healthy, we can participate fully in school, sports, and other activities we enjoy. We can also help our families and friends stay healthy too! Understanding healthy choices empowers us to make smart decisions for ourselves and others.
Healthy Food Choices: Eating healthy food is like giving your body the fuel it needs to run properly.
Think of it like this: if you put dirty water in your mom or dad’s car, it won't run well. The same goes for our bodies! We need healthy food to give us energy, help us grow strong bones and muscles, and fight off sickness.
Fruits and Vegetables: These are packed with vitamins and minerals! Think of juicy oranges from Limpopo, crisp apples, and leafy spinach. They help protect us from getting sick. Try to eat different colours every day! Red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow bananas, green spinach, and purple grapes!
Whole Grains: These give us energy to run, play, and learn. Examples include brown bread, mieliepap, and oats. They are better than white bread or sugary cereals because they keep us feeling full for longer.
Protein: Protein helps us build strong muscles. Good sources of protein include beans (like sugar beans in your bredie), eggs, chicken, and fish.
Dairy: Milk, yogurt, and cheese are good for our bones and teeth because they contain calcium.
Limiting Sugary Drinks and Snacks: Drinks like Coca-Cola and sweets like lollipops are okay sometimes, but they shouldn't be a big part of our diet. Too much sugar can make us tired, give us toothaches, and make it harder to concentrate in school.
Example: Imagine Thando has a choice between an apple and a packet of chips for a snack. The apple is a fruit, packed with vitamins, and gives him slow-releasing energy to play. The chips are salty and might give him a quick burst of energy, but then he'll feel tired soon after. The apple is the healthier choice.
Physical Activity: Moving our bodies is super important! It helps us build strong muscles and bones, keeps our hearts healthy, and makes us feel good.
Different Ways to Be Active: Running, jumping, playing soccer, swimming, dancing, and even helping with chores like sweeping the yard are all great ways to be active! Try to be active for at least 60 minutes every day. You can break it up into smaller chunks, like 20 minutes of playing outside in the morning, 20 minutes of dancing to your favourite music after lunch, and 20 minutes of playing with your friends after school.
Making it Fun: Choose activities you enjoy! If you don’t like running, try skipping or playing a game of tag. If you don’t like soccer, try swimming or dancing.
Example: Sarah loves playing netball. Every afternoon after school, she plays netball with her friends for an hour. This helps her stay active, build strong muscles, and have fun! She feels much happier and sleeps better at night because she’s been active.
Getting Enough Sleep: Sleep is like recharging your batteries. When we sleep, our bodies and minds can rest and repair themselves. How Much Sleep Do We Need? As Grade 3 learners, we need about 9-11 hours of sleep each night.
Creating a Bedtime Routine: A bedtime routine helps us relax and get ready for sleep. Some good things to include in your routine are: Taking a warm bath or shower. Reading a book. Listening to quiet music. Avoiding screen time (TV, phones, tablets) for at least an hour before bed.
Example: Sipho has a bedtime routine. Every night, he takes a warm bath, reads a chapter from his favourite book, and then goes to sleep.
He makes sure he is in bed by 8:00 pm so he gets enough sleep before school. When he gets enough sleep, he can concentrate better in class.
Good Hygiene Practices: Hygiene means keeping ourselves clean to prevent germs from spreading and making us sick.
Washing Our Hands: Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after using the toilet, before eating, and after playing outside.
Brushing Our Teeth: Brush your teeth twice a day, in the morning and before bed, to keep your teeth healthy and strong.
Bathing or Showering Regularly: This helps remove dirt and sweat from our bodies.
Wearing Clean Clothes: Changing our clothes every day helps us stay clean and fresh.
Keeping Our Nails Trimmed: Long nails can trap dirt and germs.
Example: Amahle always washes her hands after playing with her dog, before eating her lunch, and after using the bathroom at school. This helps her stay healthy and prevent the spread of germs to her friends.
Managing Feelings: It's normal to have different feelings, like happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. It's important to learn how to manage these feelings in healthy ways.
Talking About Our Feelings: Talking to a trusted adult, like a parent, teacher, or grandparent, can help us feel better when we are sad or angry.
Doing Something We Enjoy: When we are feeling down, doing something we enjoy, like drawing, playing a game, or listening to music, can help us feel better.
Taking Deep Breaths: When we are feeling angry or anxious, taking slow, deep breaths can help us calm down.
Being Active: Exercise can help release stress and improve our mood.
Example: When Zola feels sad because she misses her grandmother, she talks to her mom about it.